1. As an animal of prey, your horse’s motto is:
A) “First suppose, then react.”
B) “First react, then suppose.”
C) “First cease, then run.”
[RELATED: ‘Yep…my horse spooked at *that*.’]
2. Why is an easy plastic bag an particularly good desensitizing device to make use of together with your horse?
A) It’s one thing he’s accustomed to.
B) It makes him consider treats.
C) It’s a “triple risk” to him.
3. A big, air-filled coaching ball is usually a nice de-spooking device as a result of though it would startle a horse at first, it additionally prompts…
A) his rest response.
B) his pure curiosity.
C) his herd mentality.
4. True or false: Desensitizing your spooky horse to as many stimuli as doable works partly as a result of, as you do the desensitizing, you’re spending much less time within the saddle.
T / F
Do that coaching halter!
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HOW’D YOU DO? (Solutions beneath.)
1. B is right. As a prey species, horses advanced to remain alive by staying alert and immediately able to scoot to security. Their pure tendency is to react first and suppose later. Realizing this helps you understand the place a horse is “coming from” with respect to his spookiness; this understanding, in flip, will help you determine how finest to assist him overcome it.
2. C is right. A plastic bag is a triple risk as a result of it’s an unknown object that strikes and makes noise—all elements that may spook a horse. Tie a ripped-open bag to the top of a coaching stick and you’ve got what clinician Clinton Anderson calls “an particularly good desensitizing device.” Your objective is to have the ability to rub the “tremendous scary” bag throughout your horse’s physique, utilizing the keep on with scratch him in his favourite spots.
[Learn Warwick Schiller’s new take on desensitizing a horse.]
3. B is right. The ball’s measurement, form, and rolling motion will alarm a horse at first, however in addition they activate his pure curiosity, which works in your favor, says clinician Tommy Garland. As soon as your horse learns the ball gained’t harm him and he could make it roll by bending a knee, he begins to get pleasure from rolling it—then following after it and making it transfer once more.
4. F is right. What helps to make desensitizing so efficient is the further time general you’re spending together with your horse as you’re doing it. This builds the bonds of belief and communication between the 2 of you, and extra belief results in much less concern.
[MORE TIPS: Three experts, three ways to de-spook your horse.]
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